


The Hunted Hybrids Book: 1

by Birb_the_Torikage



Series: The Hunted Hybrids [1]
Category: Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Dragon Hybrids, Dragons, Hybrids, IceWings (Wings of Fire), MudWings (Wings of Fire), NightWings (Wings of Fire), POV First Person, RainWings (Wings of Fire), SandWings (Wings of Fire), SeaWings (Wings of Fire), SkyWings (Wings of Fire)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24724540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birb_the_Torikage/pseuds/Birb_the_Torikage
Summary: Years before peace, years before the dragonets, years before Jade Mountain . . . when the dragonet prophecy was never revealed, when Burn, Blister, Blaze, still fought, when no one was safe...Meet Midnight, a young NightWing-IceWing hybrid, who recently fled from her home, she has nowhere to go, and knew she wasn't safe. Luckily, she met more of her own. She isn't sure what to make of all the other hybrids that she's with. Though, soon, they will need each other, count on each other, trust each other.Also, I give credit to @CuzYnot3421(on Wattpad), @TT60345 (Also on Wattpad) and my other friend, Ryan (He doesnt have a Ao3 account)
Series: The Hunted Hybrids [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1787632
Kudos: 1





	1. Midnight

The winds were roaring, the snow met my talons as I walked along the border of the Ice Kingdom. Everything was covered in snow and I only saw hints of grass crawling through the snow and ice. I kept an eye out for any IceWings that would cross my path.

This was one of the worst places for a NightWing-IceWing hybrid to thrive.

The war was still happening, so it was kind of foolish of me just standing at the very border. Something terrible could happen anytime. As I looked around for any visible prey, suddenly, I heard other talons scraping against stone.

My ears immediately perked up. Instinctively, I ran for the nearest thing I could hide behind, which ended up being a slightly small boulder. I laid behind the boulder, waiting. After a while, I realized I was holding my breath.

I could be wrong, I thought, maybe it was just a prey and I missed my chance.

I looked over and saw exactly who I didn’t want to see. He was an IceWing with his back facing towards me. His scales were covered in mud. He was a bit larger than me and I saw a hare in his talons.

I kept watching as he ripped apart the hare, eating it in small bites. That’s when he turned around. Luckily, not in my direction.

I saw all of his scales oddly covered in mud.

But that’s when I realized...

He wasn’t covered in mud...his scales  look  like mud.

He’s a MudWing-IceWing hybrid!

I was so lost in thought until he turned to me and saw me. He looked more confused than alarmed or threatening. I still immediately ducked my head.

I am going to die, I thought, or maybe I’m going to get painfully tortured  then  die.

I heard him coming, and I knew I had to do something to survive.

I think I just saw an IceWing…  his mind wondered.  It seemed like she was spying on me, that can’t be good.

Yes, I do have mind reading powers. Since my parents knew I had those, my dad told me how NightWings didn’t actually have mind reading powers. Or prophets, like they said. I thought it was very cool.

Don’t think about father…  I thought, shaking my head lightly which made my IceWing spikes make some sound. 

Way to go, Midnight

IceWing minds were usually very cold and icy, his mind felt almost the same, although a little more warmer.

I spread my wings, flew into the air and dove towards the dragon. I pinned him down before he even knew what was happening.

“Woah, Woah, Woah,” he gasped.  Wow, it was an IceWing!

He seemed friendly… so far.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said.  She seems like an IceWing hybrid...

“Then why are you here?” I growled. “I may be smaller than you, but that doesn’t stop me from stopping you.”

“No,” he said. “I’m also a hybrid. You should’ve looked at me long enough to notice.”  She must be a hybrid, right? Gosh, if she was just a normal IceWing, I would be bound in chains in seconds. Stupid me.

“You knew?” I asked with a fake puzzled expression, but I was still fascinated at how he noticed I was there, watching him. “How?”

“That doesn’t matter right now,” he said sternly. “Now can you get off?”  Alright, so she is a hybrid.

“Oh,” I backed away from him. “Sorry, but if you’re a hybrid… Why are you here? This is Queen Glacier’s territory. You could get caught at any time.”

“I just ran away,” he said. “And also, I could ask the same.”

“Well…” I said, I really shouldn’t have mentioned that. Why  am  I here when I could die at any time?

“Anyway, since we’re both hybrids,” he said. “Maybe we could both work together?”  I would really like friends.

I considered that for a moment and decided, “Yeah sure.”

He smiled, “Good,”

“Maybe we should start hunting,” I said. “I really need to eat.”

“Alright,”

“Oh also,” I said. “I haven’t caught your name yet.”

“It’s Permafrost” 

We started teaching each other our ways of hunting and survival. Quickly, we trusted each other and learned from each other.

I remember this one day that we almost got killed, but luckily we didn’t.

We were just hunting when we saw a party of IceWings.

“What are they doing so far out here?” Permafrost said.

“Maybe they’re delivering a message to Blaze,” I guessed. “I see parties of IceWings all the time, they all usually are going to Blaze.”

“Oh,” he said. “Where  does  Blaze live?”

“A small hut,” I told him. “Though I’ve only seen it from far away, never actually came that close to it.”

“You, uh, seem to know a lot about this place… Any  older  or  other  connections I should know about?” he asked.  Why did I ask that question? She obviously won’t tell me RIGHT NOW.

I paused, could I trust him that much? Could I tell him my story? I decided it was  too personal to tell him,  yet .

“Uhh… no, just been here a long time, that’s all.” I smiled.

He narrowed his eyes. “Alright, then.”

Just then I shot up into the air. Permafrost looked up and yelled something, but I didn’t hear. I was gone, it didn’t look like he knew where I was since I blended in so well with the dark night sky. I flew and flew until I reached an icy cliff. It was quiet, no IceWings, no dragons, just me. This is where I would come to escape, just below I could see the moon reflecting off the frozen lake, and the stars in the sky, they reminded me of my father, his wings were beautiful in that way. 

I had never really gotten to know the NightWing side of my heritage, I had never even been to the NightWing Kingdom, I had spent my entire life in the Ice Kingdom on Queen Glacier’s territory. My father was always discreet about it, I wonder why. 

  
  


(FLASHBACK BEGINS~)

_ I was sitting on a rock in our cave, when my brother, Opal pushed me over and pinned me to the ground, “Got you!” he said.  _

_ “Sorry, but when did we start playing?” I said as I pinned him to the ground. _

_ “Since now!” he said, giggling. _

_ “Children, that’s enough, now come and eat.” My mother smiled. _

_ “Okay, mom,” Opal and I said in unison. _

_ We rushed over and sank our teeth into the meat. My father was also eating, “Midnight, would you and your brother follow me?” he said.  _

_ “Sure, after we finish,” I said. _

_ After we finished, he led me in front of the icy cold water, I watched his wings as it glittered like stars, the way it always did. I never understood why, he looked so different from mother, wasn’t he also an Icewing? _

_ We sat in front of the icy cold water, watching as many seals and fish swam through it. _

_ “Look, my children,” he said. “I know this is a big thing to say but…” _

_ He turned to us, “You guys should know that you aren’t normal IceWings, the real thing is,  _ _ I’m  _ _ not an IceWing.” _

_ “You’re not?” Opal asked. _

_ “And you aren’t normal IceWings either,” he said. “In fact, I’m a NightWing.” _

_ I cocked my head, “NightWing? Who’s that?” _

_ “Me,” he said. “I’m a NightWing, and you're both NightWing-IceWing hybrids.” _

_ “Hybrids?” I echoed. “Like the ones who look weird?” _

_ “Well… yes,” _

_ “I’m not weird!” Opal said. “I’m handsome!” _

_ “Well, sure you are. You’re special, but promise me one thing… if you ever end up somewhere else, far away, don’t EVER go near any of the SandWing princesses. They are all bad.” _

_ “Even Blaze?” I asked. “I thought we liked Blaze.” _

_ “I know you are IceWings but no,” he said. “We… had bad experiences with Glacier.” _

_ I noticed how he didn’t call her Queen Glacier, why though? He didn’t respect our queen? _

_ “And Blaze,” he added. “Kind of… well not really.” _

_ “So… you don’t like Blaze or Glacier at all,” I guessed. _

_ “Yep, because they aren’t good and they don’t respect us NightWings,” he frowned, as if realizing he was telling us dragonets too much. “You can… both go play now,” _

_ We walked away, confused by his words. _

“Hey,” Permafrost shook me out of my flashback. “What’s wrong?”  
“N-nothing,” I stammered, I opened my wings and started flying again, with Permafrost closely behind.

What did he mean? I thought, still thinking about the flashback.

I shouldn’t have, because I heard Permafrost calling in the distance when I realized what he was yelling about, it was too late.

An IceWing shot towards me, in a matter of seconds, he had me pinned down on the icy floor.

“Why are you-” he stopped mid-sentence. “Oh right… you’re that hybrid that escaped so long ago.”

I can’t believe I finally found her!  I heard what he said.

I struggled as I read his mind. I’ve read minds before and usually I block them, but in this case, I wasn’t.

That’s when I heard Permafrost, “Midnight!”

I risked a look over and I saw Permafrost and a few other IceWings chasing after him.

That other IceWing is her friend…  the IceWing thought.

The IceWing on top of me growled and said, “Alright, if you stay still and behave until we get back, maybe I’ll spare your friend over there.”

I couldn’t let this happen, I had to do something.

After a few seconds of silence, the IceWing roared and flung Permafrost off his back.

I got up and clawed at his side, leaving a trail of blood.

He flew up, growling.

“I told you I would spare him!” he snarled. “I guess I’ll have to kill him instead!”

He dove towards Permafrost, his talons outstretched.

“No!” I yelled, which totally did nothing.

Permafrost dodged and opened his mouth.

Frost came out of his mouth and with a sharp cracking sound, the IceWing no longer had a left-wing.

“AGH!” the IceWing cried out, “I’LL KILL YOU!”

“Well, try to catch us then,” Permafrost said, lifting off the ground. “Like, it’s going to be easy, you just need to - oh yeah, your wing is gone,” He teased. 

But then, his other IceWing friends came flying by.

The new IceWing cursed under his breath upon spotting his injured comrade and 2 enemies.

“Snowstorm!” the other IceWing yelled. “What happened!?”  
“Crystal!” he yelled, wincing. “Stop yammering and get them!”

Crystal nodded and flew towards us, her mouth open.

“Okay, maybe we’re not safe yet,” Permafrost said.  And we’re probably going to die soon,  he thought.

I suddenly got an idea.

“What happens when fire enters an IceWings mouth?” I asked.

“Oh uhh,” he said.  I’m not sure that ever really happened to any IceWings, maybe it burns their throat?  He thought.

“Okay, thanks,” I said.

Permafrost looked confused, but I brought all the heat in my body and felt fire from my chest rise through my throat and stop right behind my jaw.

The fire came out of my mouth, entering hers.

Her eyes widened for a second and she screamed and screamed. Then her wings and chest started slowly turning to ash, moments later, she went limp and started falling.

Her body tumbled onto the snow, her body still lifeless.

Snowstorm looked at the body, his whole face filled with fear.

I turned around and saw the other IceWings’ eyes wide too.

I was pretty sure she was dead when her body and wings started twitching. She breathed out a plume of smoke and started coughing.

Instead of talking or making  any dragon-like sound, the only sound that came out was a smoky rasp.

“Crystal?” Snowstorm asked.

He turned towards us, “HOW DARE YOU!” he snarled.

“Uh…” I said, “Sorry?”

Suddenly Permafrost leaped forward, tackling the IceWing to the ground and promptly used his spiked tail to bash the IceWing into the ground. He then raised his talons and with a terrifying passion and speed brought them down and slit the IceWings throat.

The IceWing then started gurgling up blue IceWing blood. 

Panting Permafrost turned back to me.

“Run,” he said, “NOW!”

Instinctively, I started flying away, not daring to look back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to the first Chapter of The Hunted Hybrids! Any form of constructive criticism is welcome and try to keep things clean and peaceful in the comments! Updates weekly on Sunday.
> 
> Word Count: 2051
> 
> -Birb_the_Torikage


	2. Permafrost

It was one against three… well… two and a half because one of the Icewings had one of his wings gone.  
There wasn’t any hope of me winning.  
I shouldn’t have just charged in, and I obviously shouldn’t have told Midnight to run away, what if she bumps into another group of IceWings? Surely there wouldn’t be one that is half dead and one with only one wing. She’d be dead in seconds. In fact, she could be on the verge of dying right now, but she was on the run longer than I had been, I’ll assume she knows how to fight.  
I got myself into this, and now I have to get out of it. The only problems were the IceWings.  
“Well, she escaped,” Snowstorm gritted his teeth. “At least we have someone else to bring to Queen Glacier.”  
He flicked his tail, and immediately, both of the Icewings ran towards me, talons outstretched.  
I was surprised to see one of them opening his mouth, didn’t he learn anything? Maybe I should go for him last.  
I dodged both of their claws, raked one in the face and clawed another one in the underbelly.  
I stepped in front of Snowstorm who was still looking at Crystal in shock as her whole body twitched and she coughed smoke out.  
He stood up and brought his claws to my face. I leaped out of the way, lashing out with my tail.  
“Maybe we could have an agreement,” he snarled.  
“Oh yeah? What agreement?”  
“Since you destroyed my wing,” he winced at the sight of that, “Then how about you give me something in return.”  
“And what’s that going to be?”  
“How about a wing...for your life!?” he snarled as he darted forward, ready to claw at me and pin me down.  
But then, all of a sudden, he stopped. I saw ice climbing up his body, his whole body was twitching violently before he fell down.  
Right behind him was Midnight.  
“Midnight!” he said. “You… came back?”  
“You think I’d just leave you here with three IceWings?” she asked.  
“Um… yes?”  
She rolled her eyes, “I guess you have no clue what loyalty is.”  
“No time for chit chat,” I said, turning towards the other IceWings who were still hurt.  
I stood in front of them. “Should we kill them?”  
They both yelped in alarm. “Please don’t!!” one who had his face bleeding. “You killed our commander! We’re useless! It’s no use killing us!”  
I considered that for a moment, though, it could be just so they could survive and tell Queen Glacier.  
I looked at Midnight who looked ready to kill.  
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I know what you’re planning.”  
“No! Please!” the other one cried. “Please! We won’t tell anyone!”  
“Can we just kill them and be done with it?” Midnight asked, impatiently. “We don’t have all day.”  
“I swear to the moons that we won’t tell anyone!” he pleaded. “We’ll just make up a story!”  
“CAN WE GO NOW?!” Midnight asked. “MORE ICEWINGS CAN COME ANY SECOND!!!”  
“Okay fine, let’s-”  
All of a sudden, probably a dragon that was black and had giant wings swooped in out of nowhere. After the figure was far away, I realized both of the dragons had their eyes scratched. They weren't dead but they were screaming.  
“Woah,” Midnight rubbed her eyes. “Three moons, what happened? Did you kill them?”  
“I was going to ask the same,” I stared into the sky.  
“What was that?!” she asked.  
“Come on, we shouldn’t waste time,” I flew into the sky. “Let’s see who that was.”  
I could still see it, though for some reason he or she was very fast.  
Maybe she or he is a SkyWing, I thought. Maybe that’s why it's so fast  
“Can you slow down?!” Midnight asked. “Like, what if it’s an enemy? Don’t we not want to get into any more battles? Aren’t we supposed to be hidden? Hey! Hello?!”  
“Shush!” I yelled. “I want to see how it was so fast and silent!”  
“Ugh! Seriously? Can we at least rest for a bit?!”  
“No!” I said, “We can’t lose it!”  
“Why does it even matter?!”  
When I was just going to snap back at her, the dragon swooped down.  
“Well, I guess we can rest now,” I said, landing back on the ground.  
“Finally,” She rested her wings. “Now, can we not follow that thing?”  
“No, we’re still going to follow it.”  
“Why, what’s so important about it?”  
“The fact that it was so fast and silent?”  
“The reason why it was so silent is because you weren’t paying attention.”  
“It’s not like you were either!” I snapped. “Now stop whining about this, either you stay here or follow me. I don’t care which you choose.”  
“Just saying, this is not very smart!”  
“So are you staying or coming?”  
“I’m staying.”  
“Alright then,” I said as I walked away from her.  
As I sneaked closer, I realized how odd it looked. Oh, and I almost forgot, that dragon is a she.  
She was just lying on the ground, probably, maybe snoring, she had black scales and I couldn’t exactly see her face at this angle.  
She must be a NightWing, I thought.  
That’s when I noticed her wings looked oddly different from a normal NightWing wings. It was… bigger.  
A SkyWing? How?  
I was coming closer when she suddenly moved.  
I stopped, and saw as she turned her head around to face me.  
Her eyes widened, and my eyes did too. She stepped back and opened her wings to fly away.  
“Wait!” I said,  
She growled and lashed out her tail, probably a warning, and then, she started flying away. Though I could clearly see fear on her face.  
“Aw, come on,” I said. She doesn’t seem like a threat though, she just ran away.  
“Don’t worry, I got this!” Midnight suddenly flew past me.  
“Wait, Midnight?” I yelled at the air.  
I guess I’ll have to follow them too.  
I began chasing after them.  
She was very fast, which probably meant she was a SkyWing, but I saw her scales.  
Midnight was flying remarkably fast. Still, the SkyWing was faster.  
Suddenly, maybe SkyWing turned around, and stared at Midnight. Midnight stared back.  
My instincts came flooding in, my dad’s voice struck me like lightning.   
Don’t take pity on anything or anyone! Strike it! Kill it! Show no fear! His voice rang in my head.  
So that’s what happened. I shot upwards, flying above both of them and dove down, shooting towards the maybe SkyWing. I saw her yelp in alarm as I came shooting down above her. I saw Midnight yell something I didn’t hear.  
I pinned her down to the ground, pinning her wings down and lifted my tail, I snarled at her.  
She gasped and looked at me with frightened eyes.  
“Who are you!?” I asked. She has no skills, she didn’t even try dodging my attack.  
The SkyWings only winced and I saw I was slightly digging my claws into her wings.  
“Permafrost!” I heard Midnight yell. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!”  
“Saving your life,” I growled.  
“Saving my life?!” She asked. “We were having a great conversation!”  
I frowned. “Conversation?” I echoed.  
“Yes!” She snapped. “Do you always approach dragons this way?!”  
“Says the one who did the same to me,” I muttered.  
“That was the only time I did it!” She said, then realized. “Wait, actually, I only do that to IceWings.”  
“Exactly,” I said.  
“Well, she is not trying to kill us,” she said. “So can you get off her, so I can at least talk to her?”  
Seriously? You were just talking about how we should stay hidden, I thought.  
“Well, she is trying to stay hidden too!” She said,  
I stared at her, “Did you just read my mind?”  
“Yes,” she lowered her voice. “I should’ve told you earlier.”  
“Yeah you should’ve!” I snapped. Then I started thinking about how much she fished from my mind.  
“I’m sorry, I only figured it out now,” she said. “I don’t know why, maybe because I am part NightWing.”  
“Not me though,” the SkyWing suddenly said. “Also, weren’t you supposed to get off me?”  
“Oh yeah, right,” I said.   
She stood up, spreading her wings. I saw some silvery scales beside her eyes, just like Midnight.  
“Hold on,” I said. “So NightWing powers are real?”  
“Well…” the SkyWing said. “Not really…”  
“But, you guys have them,”  
“Others don't,” she said.  
“Also,” Midnight said. “I didn’t catch your name.”  
The SkyWing stared at Midnight and she said, “Cool, nice name.”  
“Ahem,” I said. “Did you two seriously forget about me?”  
“So, Shadowsee- I mean Shadow,” she said to the SkyWing. “Isn’t a SkyWing, she is a SkyWing-NightWing hybrid.”  
“Oh,” I said, even though I kind of already knew. “Huh. You kind of look like a burnt up SkyWing.”  
Shadow didn’t even look close to being offended, she just stared blankly and blinked.  
“Shadow, this is my sidekick, Permafrost,” Midnight said.  
“Hey! I’m not a sidekick!” I protested. “You’re the sidekick!”  
“Not even close,” she said.  
“I’m stronger, faster, smarter and better.”  
Midnight ignored me, “Anyways, would you like to join us? Since your a hybrid too? Is someone hunting you?”  
“Sure, I’ll join,” she said, dodging the other questions.  
“Ehem,” I said. “You seem to be avoiding the other questions which is totally not suspicious and totally safe.”  
“Sorry,” Shadow said. “And yes, I’m hunted too…”  
“By…?” Midnight asked, curious.  
“By Burn,” she finished.  
“Woah,” I said. “That must be very bad.”  
“Yeah,” her wings dropped. “I just ran away from my home. Which is the Sky Kingdom, if you’re wondering. Now...I just need to go as west as I can.”  
“West?” Midnight asked. “Wow, so where are you planning to go?”  
“I don’t know,” she said.  
“The Night Kingdom?!” Midnight suddenly said out loud and then realized I was still there.  
“Hey, can you guys stop having conversations that I can’t have?” I said, “Also… the Night Kingdom? Do you seriously think they’re going to just let a hybrid just skip in. Even when one of her parents was the one who abandoned them?”  
They both thought for a moment.  
“I didn’t think about that,” she said. “Sorry if I don’t know much. For most of my life I was hidden away from the outside world. I didn’t know much about NightWings. I thought some dragons were nice.”  
“Well turns out the NightWings aren’t the ‘some dragons were nice,’” I said.  
They both stared at me.  
“Uh… no offence?” I said,  
“Whatever, other dragons never understand,” Midnight said.  
“Also...shouldn’t we get out of here?” I asked. “We should leave. When Queen Glacier finds out some of her patrols were killed...they’ll bring reinforcements.”  
“Yeah, alright,” Midnight turned to Shadow. “Maybe we can go to the Sand Kingdom.”  
“Why!?” she asked, surprised. “I just said I was chased by Burn.”  
“I was thinking about going to the Scorpion Den,” she said. “Like, we know most of the Scorpion Den hates Burn.”  
“I guess that’ll be all right,” Shadow said, but she still looked frightened.  
“Also,” Midnight added. “If she does come, we can fight her off!”  
She nudged my wing. “Yeah… sure we can.” I said half-heartedly.  
She gave me the ‘are you serious?’ look  
“Alright, let’s go,” Shadow said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Chapter 2 is here! As always any form of constructive criticism is welcome and try to keep things clean and peaceful in the comments! Also just as an FYI after Chapter 10 or 15 I may slow updates for every other week as the story currently is still being written and is on Chapter 21
> 
> Word Count: 1901
> 
> -Birb_the_Torikage


	3. Chapter 3

Shadowseeker  
The desert wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.  
I thought it was going to look creepy, and dragons skulls staring at your face. I heard SandWings had a barbed tail. So I imagined fierce SandWings with scars everywhere and long sharp claws and everything that’s bad.  
Turns out, the desert was mostly just sand.  
Well, not only that but it was hot, really hot.  
It was only when we walked only a few hours away when Midnight yelled, “I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”  
“Chill,” Permafrost said, then said. “Oh… sorry, no pun intended.”  
“THAT’S NOT HELPING!” Midnight yelled. “IS THERE ANY WATER OR SOMETHING! THIS IS WORSE THAN THE ICE KINGDOM!”  
“Well, the Ice Kingdom is too cold, I’m not sure which one I like better,” I said, looking around. “The desert wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”  
“If you’re both burning alive how about this,” Permafrost said.   
“Wait . . . what?” Midnight asked.  
He then turned to me and pulled his head and neck briefly leaned forwards letting out a slow but steady stream of icy breath.  
It felt relaxing and I cried out, “Wow! That was a smart idea.”  
“Oh! I bet I can do that to myself,” Midnight looked up and breathed out some frost but it evaporated before it landed on her head, “AW, COME ON! Let me try again.”  
After a couple dozen tries and she finally got only a little bit on her. “Finally,” Shard cried out. “I fin- wait, what’s that?”  
Over in the distance, we all saw two distinct figures, which looked too small to be a dragon, nor was it small enough to be a lizard or any type of prey.  
“Yeah, what is that?” Permafrost squinted at it. Obviously not a dragon… but it doesn’t seem like a camel or lizard. That actually would’ve been good, he thought.  
Shadow, Midnight thought, but I knew she was talking to me. Do you know what that is? I have an idea… it might be two very big camels… but wait…  
Then, Permafrost purposefully thought EXTREMELY loud, HEY! CAN YOU GUYS NOT HAVE MIND CONVERSATIONS?!?!?  
“Ow,” I said, feeling the pain subside in my head. “Can you not do that?”  
“Yeah,” Midnight was touching her head. “That really hurt.”  
“Well you deserved it,” Permafrost snapped. “Whatever you two want to say, just say it.”  
“Fine,” Midnight said.   
“So,” I said. “I’m not sure if I’m right, but since I’m part SkyWing I can see really far. If the scrolls were right… I have a guess.”  
Midnight looked at me which meant she probably read my mind.  
“And?” Permafrost said, looking irritated.  
“I… I think it’s two scavengers,” I said. “I might be wrong but I’m sure the scrolls said they walk on two hind legs and have paws… how do they even walk on two legs?!”  
“Don’t ask us,” Midnight said. “We have the least amount of knowledge.”  
“Did you just say we were dumb?!” Permafrost suddenly said. “I’m not dumb!”  
“Do you know anything about the Scorching?” I asked.  
He paused and blinked in surprise for a second then said, “That… that has nothing to do with being dumb!”  
“Do you know anything about scavengers?” I asked. “Surely you do, you must have seen some in your life. Unless you're me.”  
He opened and closed his mouth, “That… we’re dragons! Why do we care about scavengers! They’re just normal prey!”  
“Not exactly,” Midnight bumped in. “They have those sharp long claws, remember?”  
“And you think some little claws can do something?!” He asked.  
“One scavenger did kill Queen Oasis,” I remembered.  
“Well,” Permafrost said. “Maybe she was just turning weak and maybe she was sick...or something.”  
“SHE HAD THE THRONE FOR DECADES!” Midnight said. “And you’re just assuming she died because she was sick. NOPE!”  
“LOOK!” Permafrost said. “I may not know much about the Scorching, or anything about scavengers, but I’m a good planner. And I'm a pretty good warrior!”  
“That, I agree,” Midnight said. I DON’T AGREE WITH HIM COMPLETELY THOUGH!! She added.  
“And also,” Permafrost added. “WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION? We were talking about scavengers.” And what they’re doing here, he thought. How do scavengers even survive here? I’m sure if I was that small, I would’ve died in the first hour.  
I opened my mouth to tell him all the different kinds of ways scavengers survive when Midnight said, “DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE SCAVENGERS! THEY ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK THEY ARE!”  
“Woah,” Permafrost looked like he just went deaf. “Dear Moons, did you seriously have to scream in my ear?!”  
“I had to let out some of my frustration!” Midnight said. “BECAUSE IT'S SO HOT! Especially for us IceWings!”  
“Could you guys stop?” I said, “Because I think I see a problem… maybe a few problems.”  
I saw in the distance was the thing I never wanted to see in my life.  
We haven’t noticed it, probably those two couldn’t even see it, but there it was; Burn’s stronghold.  
I’ve never seen it, I thought. Maybe the desert is as bad as I thought.  
That’s when I had a flashback.  
It was a nice sunny day at my home. Before, I was like a normal SkyWing dragonet. I lived in the outskirts of the Kingdom. So I have never seen Queen Scarlet. I’ve heard, though. How she was beautiful, smart and kind. I believed it for a while when my parents… well, told me the truth.  
Anyways, I was like a normal dragonet, only a year old. That day, I was flying around having fun, because all SkyWings love flying.  
“Dinner time, honey!” My mom had called.  
I dashed in, holding a little wooden toy I just made.  
“Look mom!” I’d showed her the little scavenger I made out of wood. “It’s a scavenger!”  
“That’s really cool,” she’d smiled.  
My mom was a NightWing. She had beautiful silver patterns under her wings. At first, I thought she was the only dragon who had it. But she told me I had it too, which made me feel special.  
“Here you go,” my dad had pulled up a sheep. “Let’s eat!”  
We ate, like every other meal, this one was just the same.  
That’s when I saw another SkyWing who was dressed very fashionably.  
He had vibrant cherry red scales that looked more like blood than anything. He was slightly larger than mom.  
“Sir,” he’d cleared his voice. “Sir?”  
“Yes, yes,” my dad had said. “What is it?”  
“May I uh… have a private chat with you?”  
“Sure,” they both walked away and I saw the other SkyWing talking to him.  
“Who’s that guy?” I’d asked.  
“Don’t worry, just some dragon from the palace.” My mom said.  
“The castle?” I’d asked, curious. “Like where Queen Scarlet is?”  
“Yes,” she sighed. “Don’t worry, that’s not Queen Scarlet… it’s just her son. He’s fine.”  
“Queen Scarlet has children?!” I’d asked, surprised. “Who would like her?”  
“Maybe her mate was forced?” Mom had suggested.  
I sat there, and I realized their conversation was turning into a fight.  
At last, I saw my dad sigh then said a few other words and returned with a displeased face.  
“Honey,” he called for mom.  
“Yes?”  
“About the chat,” he glanced at me. “We need a little talk about the business.”  
“Okay,” they both went into another room.  
What was the argument about?  
It was a while before I got very bored that I wanted to listen to their conversation. But, it was already done.  
After they came out...they acted...weirdly odd.  
They both kept giving me glances and were not doing much during the day.  
The next day, they were both in the room again. Talking.  
Again, I was stuck with nothing to do. After dad left. I wanted to check on mom.  
I went into the room and I realized she was sleeping.  
“Mom?” I’d touched her arm and then...I was looking somewhere else.  
A vision!  
In the vision, it seemed like I was looking at the conversation that happened yesterday.  
“What did he tell you, honey?” Mom had said softly.  
“It’s bad news,” dad had said. “Very bad.”  
“What is it?”  
“They… they found out,”  
“Found out!” She had gasped. “You mean our daughter?!”  
“Yes and now,” he had started pacing. “They want her!”  
“They can’t! Wait, you mean…”  
“Yes!” He’d said, “Burn…”  
That was the first time I heard him say her name. But, Burn wants me? Why?  
I tried thinking about who was Burn and what she did. I never liked hearing anything related to her. Even saying her name gives me chills.  
“No…” she’d said. “No, no, no, can we stop her?!”  
“There’s...no way,” he’d said. “Unless you want to get banished from two kingdoms. But then we can’t go to the Mud Kingdom either.”  
“What do we do!” she’d said, “I don’t want to lose my daughter! Why didn’t you just beat him or something?”  
“I don’t think that’ll work much either!” he’d said, “If we leave, we’ll be hunted. That is not a good way either.”  
“Is there no hope then…?” she’d asked, her voice getting smaller.  
“I’m sorry,” he’d said.  
It ended.  
They’re going to sell me, I’d thought. And I’m not just going to get sold… I’m going to die.  
And it ended.  
When I snapped back, I realized Permafrost was nudging my wings.  
“Huh?” I asked, looking around.  
Permafrost looked worried, “Shadow?”  
“I’m sorry, what happened?”  
“It’s not ‘what happened’,” Permafrost said. “It’s what is happening.”  
I looked at Midnight, who just looked concerned.  
“So… what is happening?” I asked, very confused.  
“Well,” Midnight said. “I see something.”  
She looked around and caught a shape in the distance.  
Midnight was right, there’s a dragon coming towards us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the lack of updates as an apology I shall post Chapter 4 today as well. As always, any form of constructive criticism is welcome and try to keep things clean and peaceful in the comments! Also just as an FYI after Chapter 10 or 15 I may slow updates for every other week as the story currently is still being written and is on Chapter 21
> 
> Word Count: 1,634
> 
> _Birb_the_Torikage


	4. Chapter 4

I was hallucinating. And I was dying.  
As I stumbled across the barren land, I tried to remember why I ran away and did this to myself.  
Oh yeah, because I was going to DIE, I thought.  
Just when I lost all hope and was just about to plant my face in the sand. I saw three distinct figures.  
I’m probably hallucinating again, I thought.  
As the figures got closer, I forgot that I was trying to remind myself to not get fooled.  
“H-hello?” I managed to croak out.  
I was so tired, I couldn’t see straight, so when the figures got close, I only saw blurs.  
“Who are you?” I asked.  
“Oh my, are you alright?” A female voice said. I realized it came from the first blurry figure.  
“Yikes,” the second figure said, also in a female voice.  
“Um, maybe we should leave him be,” the third said in a male voice this time.  
No! Please, I need help! I thought desperately.  
“He’s really desperate,” the second one said.  
“Yeah,” the first agreed. “Maybe we should help him.”  
“But he’s a SandWing!” The third said.  
“He looks different,” the first said. “SandWings are supposed to have bigger wings than this. His neck also looks weird...wait...are those gills?”  
It’s because I'm a weird deformed SandWing, I thought sadly.  
“Hmm, he looks deformed!” The second said, as if she read my mind.  
Yeah, sure, take me and kill me. At least it’ll end my misery  
“Don’t worry,” the first said. “We’re not going to kill you.”  
The third snorted, “How are we sure we can promise that?”  
“Stop being so suspicious,” the second figure said. “If he were planning something, we would’ve known.”  
We would’ve known?  
“Please, Permafrost,” the first said. “He’s about to die.”  
I couldn’t keep my eyelids open any longer. They shut and everything went black.  
I didn’t dream anything either, which made me sure I was dead, then, I heard voices.  
“Is he alright?” It was the female dragon.  
“How can I know?” The other female said. “How about you ask yourself, you said you were smart.”  
“I have an idea,” that voice was probably the male one, Permafrost, at least that should be him.  
“What kind of-wait, where are you going?” The second female voice asked.  
A few seconds later, I felt a cold shock surge through my body. I got up and screamed.  
“AHH! WHERE AM I!” I yelled.  
“Um, your fine,” Permafrost said.  
I frowned at him. He was an IceWing that looked very weird. He had mud all over his scales. It was so weird, I thought I was hallucinating again. He also had a bucket in his hands, which meant he was the one who woke me up.  
I looked around and realized I was nowhere near the desert. We were in a cold cave, the opposite of the hot sand in the desert.  
“Who are you all!?” I growled.  
“I knew this would happen,” Permafrost said.  
“Calm down,” the female said.  
I studied both of the NightWings.  
One had dark scales and had cool silver scales near her eyes. She had weird sharp horns and scales running down her back that looked oddly like the shape of an IceWing.  
The other NightWing, which was the first figure, I guessed. Had a shape of a SkyWing? Her scales were all dark, like a shadow. When I first saw her, I thought she looked like a SkyWing that got all her colors burnt out. Her under scales were a very dark shade of grey. Her eyes were oddly the color of blood mixed with amber. Same as the first NightWing, she had silver scales near her eyes.  
Why do they all look weird?  
“Well, you see,” the first NightWing suddenly said. “We’re hybrids.”  
I stared at her for a long moment, realization seeping in.  
“Did you just…” I said, at a loss for words.  
“Well yes,” the second NightWing said. “Haven’t you heard that we NightWings can read minds?”  
“No…” I slowly said. “I thought it was fake.”  
“For others, yes,” the first NightWing said. “Because they are. But for some reason we have those powers.”  
“Are… you sure?”  
“My mom was a NightWing,” she said. “I assure you she wasn’t digging through my mind.”  
“Interesting…” I said,  
“Anyways,” the second NightWing jumped in. “Let us introduce ourselves. I’m Midnight. A NightWing-IceWing hybrid.”  
“That’s cool,” I said. Then I thought my journey would’ve been way better with an IceWing by my side.  
“And yours?” I asked the first NightWing.  
“Shadow,” she said.  
“Huh,” I said, remembering how I thought she looked like a shadow. “Suits you.”  
She just shrugged, “Also, I’m a NightWing-SkyWing hybrid.”  
“And I’m Permafrost,” Permafrost said. “I am a MudWing-IceWing hybrid.”  
“How about you?” Shadow asked.  
“Sandscale,” I said.  
“Wow, that’s really cool!” Midnight said. “What is it like being able to survive long in the desert? I bet it was better than us! Also, what is it like having a barbed tail? How do you live with each other without accidentally hurting each other?!”  
“Okay nice,” I cleared my throat, ignoring the other questions. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to leave.”  
Shadow shook her head and said, “You shouldn’t go, Burn may catch you.”  
A shiver went through my bones. I’ve always hated Burn. She almost killed me and I ran just in time.  
“So...are you telling me to not leave and be your prisoner?”  
“Prisoner?” Midnight asked. “We don’t keep prisoners.”  
“Unless you want to be one,” Permafrost added. “You can be our only, and first prisoner.”  
“Stop it,” Midnight said and he did.  
“You shouldn’t leave,” Shadow said. “You can choose to, but I’m warning you, you may die. Better to be in a group than solo.”  
“So, I should stay with you guys?”  
“Yes, unless you want to die,”. Permafrost said.  
“Don’t worry,” Midnight said. “We’re all hybrids, remember? We should stay together, we’re all being hunted, you know.”  
“Oh really?” I asked, curious. “By who?”  
“Well, Midnight and I are hunted by Queen Glacier,” Permafrost said.  
“Burn and Queen Scarlet…” Shadow said.  
“Wow, also Burn?”  
“Yes,” she said softly.  
Huh, so these dragons are like me…  
“Also,” Permafrost said. “Should we go somewhere else?”  
“I don’t know,” Midnight said. “Weren’t we going to the Scorpion Den?”  
“Oh! Yeah!”  
“Yeah, so let’s go,” Midnight said.  
“But what’s the purpose?” Shadow asked.  
“So we can be safe from Burn,” Midnight said. “And we could get information.”  
“Oh yeah! Most of the dragons in the Scorpion Den hate Burn!” I said, trying to remember. “Some of them escaped from Burn’s army.”  
“I guess it’s lucky to have a SandWing by our side,” Permafrost said. “Now lead the way!”  
I really didn’t want to return.  
The moment I went back on the hot sand. I felt like I was going to hallucinate again. I had been in the desert walking around for so long, I wished I didn’t have to return again.  
“Okay,” Midnight said. “So, Sandscale, do you have any idea where the Scorpion Den might be?”  
“Uh, well…” I said, searching through my mind. “I, uh… may have been there before… but that was a very long time ago.”  
“A place with large sand dunes,” Shadow said. “Okay, thanks. We have little info, but it’s better than none.”  
“Umm,” Permafrost said. “I think… if I remember the map correctly… it’s somewhere South…”  
“So we go South!” Shadow said. “Good, follow me.”  
“Wait, wait, wait!” I said, “Wait, but South? What if we’re going the wrong way? We don’t know if it’s South East or South West.”  
“We’ll never know if we don’t try,” Midnight said. “Now, come on.”  
“Wait, can’t you guys see the future?” I asked. “So can you tell me if we’re going the right way? I’ll be more confident then.”  
Midnight rolled her eyes, “Our powers don’t work like that.”  
“Well actually,” Shadow corrected. “There are some NightWings in history that could see all possibilities. For example, Clearsight and Darkstalker had those kinds of overcharged powers. Darkstalker-”  
“Can you guys stop talking and go?” Permafrost asked.  
“Okay, sure,”  
We walked for a long time, we didn’t fly because Shadow gave us a whole lecture about ‘if we don’t fly it will decrease the chances of being spotted’ and ‘if we fly we’ll probably be spotted from-’ all kinds of nonsense.  
But even though I protested about the lecture and how it’s totally safe to fly, Midnight and Permafrost agreed with Shadow which left me with no choice.  
“UGH!” Midnight said. “I already feel sweaty. How do you SandWings live in this place!” she said SandWings like they were scavengers, though I didn’t point it out. I did internally laugh though.  
“Well, it’s because SandWings are actually pretty adapted to-” Shadow started to say, but Permafrost said, “SHADOW! WE DON’T NEED A LECTURE ABOUT SANDWINGS! We literally have one right here!” he pointed to me. “And I’ve seen SandWings before, I actually know a lot about them.”  
“Midnight was asking though,” Shadow looked kind of hurt.  
“Do you know those types of questions that are asked, but not meant to be answered?” Midnight asked, suddenly.  
“Yes?”  
“Well, my question was exactly that type of question,” Midnight said. “I actually know a lot about SandWings too.”  
“Oh, okay…”  
“ANYWAYS,” I said, just to stop all the talking. “This isn’t relevant to what’s happening right now.”  
“Right now…?” Midnight asked.  
“Yes,” I said, delighted as I turned towards the building. “We’re here.”  
It was different from what I remembered.  
That was the first thing that entered my mind, about how different it looked than the last time I came.  
I remembered it as a peaceful, kind city, with lots of injured scarred SandWings who mostly hated Burn (at least most of them do).  
But now, it looked like a military ground.  
It was littered with junk and dried blood. The houses were all made out of what looked like old and almost fragile wood. I saw some SandWings glowering at each other and others were whispering to each other. Lots of the SandWings had battle injuries and looked skinny. Even the dragonets looked beaten up and hungry.  
“Woah,” Midnight said. “Huh, I thought it would be bigger and… well… you know… better.”  
“The Scorpion Den sure needs some cleaning up,” Permafrost pointed out.  
“This is… not what I remembered,” I said.  
“I thought the scrolls were over exaggerating… but it really …” Shadow said.  
“Alright, let’s go on,” Midnight started to stroll in when all of a sudden, we saw one SandWing kick out another one who didn’t look as strong.  
“Get out!” he snarled at the other SandWing. “And never come back!”  
All of a sudden, I caught a glimpse of the other SandWing’s scales...turning blueish.  
“What do you mean!” he cried, staggering up. “I’m not a RainWing!” he choked on the word ‘RainWing’.  
“Lie to me all you want,” he growled. “Either you go and never come back or I’ll be sure to slice your head off and spend the rest of my days telling you about your lies!”  
“Please!” he begged. “I hate Burn the same as you all. Also, why would I be a RainWing???”  
“I know how you lie!” the dragon snarled again. “You talk like there’s no such thing as that. But I’ve heard enough of it! I’ve been studying you ever since you came.”  
“What…” he trailed off. “You’ve been...spying on me?!”  
“Exactly,” he snapped. “Now run off before I change my mind!”  
“Oh my,” Shadow said. “I didn’t...I thought…”  
“Maybe...we should go…” I said,  
“Wait,” Permafrost pointed at the other SandWing who was walking away. “Maybe we can talk to him. He looks like he’s been living in the Scorpion Den for a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you accept this apology, as always any form of constructive criticism is welcome and try to keep things clean and peaceful in the comments! Also just as an FYI after Chapter 10 or 15 I may slow updates for every other week as the story currently is still being written and is on Chapter 21
> 
> Word Count: 1975
> 
> -Birb_the_Torikage


End file.
